Car side construction



Sept. 14, 1937. E DITCHHELD 2,092,959

CAR SIDE CONSTRUCTION] Filed 00's. 50, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l VEN TOR- FRA/VK D/TCHF/ELD Sept. 14, 1937.

F. DITCHFIELD CAR SIDE CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sham'l 2 Fildoct. s, 1935 VENToR- FEA/VK, D/TcHF/ELD F. Dl'rcHFn-:LD

CAR SID'E CONSTRUCTION vSept. 14, '1937,

Filed oct. 30,' 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 14, 1937y CAR SIDE CONSTRUCTION Frank Ditchfield,

'The Youngstown Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Steel' Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio y Application October 30, 1935, Serial No. 47,466

8 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in car side construction.

A recent development in railway house car conversion or repair has enabled the railroads to convert wooden sheathed cars possessing serviceable metallic underframes to metallic house cars and to reap the substantial benefits of economy of repair, increased life of the cars, enlarged capacity and enhanced revenue yield atlo tendant upon such conversion. The metallic car side construction by which these benefits are made possible embodies angular members secured to and along the lower margin of the metallic sheathing of the converted cars and extending l5 therefrom and secured to the side sill of the underframe of the car. These angular members have, in the past, uniformly extended from a door post which extends below the topI of the side sill to the adjacent end of the car and thus have been incapable of entering into the construction of the side wall girder as a part of the lower cord of said girder or as a reinforcement therefor. The side wall girder of theconverted metallic house car is constituted by the side sill at the bottom, the side plate at the top and the connecting door and intermediate posts secured to the side sill and side plate. l

The instant invention is particularly eicacious in its application to to .an automobile car. The door opening provided in each side of a box car is approximately 6 wide and is controlled by a single sliding door. In an automobile car this opening is 12 or more in width and is controlled by two oppositely sliding doors. Hence, to eiect the conversion from a box car to an automobile car and to obtain the necessary wide door opening, it is required that one intermediate post be'removed. Inasmuch as the posts constitute the tension members of" the 40 side Wall girder hereinabove defined, a removal of one of said posts decreases in proportionate amount the support o f the side sill, the bottom cord of said girder, against deflection. The instant invention permits the indicated conversion while providing for a reinforcement of the bottom cord and a maintenance of the desired rigidity or strength thereof.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invvention to provide a car side construction for railway house cars in which the metallic member connecting the metallic sheathing of said side and the side sill shall be incorporated as an integral part of the lower cord of the side wall girder or constitute a reinforcement for the side sill end to end thereof,

the conversion of a box car A further object is to provide a car side construction in which the member connecting the metallic sheathing of said side and the side sill shall be incorporated as an integral part of the entire lower cord of the side wall girder and which 5 construction shall provide for the support of the ooring in the door opening projecting beyond the side sill.

A further object is to provide a novel construction for supporting that part of the car floor which 10 is in the door opening and overhangsthe side sill.

Other objects of the invention will become clear *as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part of this specificationv i 15, Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a railway house car showing a part of the car. side Wall thereof from the door opening to the adjacent lend of the car embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 20 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1. .g

Figure 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4 4 of, Figure 1, the Hoor of the car being omitted 25 to more clearly illustrate the invention.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5 5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectiontaken on lineV 6-6 of Figure 1. 30 Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a portion of a railway house car I 0 which may be considered as representing a housecar of the 'automobile type converted from an originally 'wooden sheathed box car or a new house car con- "struction of either the box car or automobile type. The drawings illustrate a portion of the side wall construction of the car extending from and including a part of the door opening I I to and including the adjacent end of the car. It 40 to be understood that the remaining portion of the car side wall construction is complementary to that illustrated and that the -side Wall construction on the opposite side of the car will be similar to that shown.

' 'I'he portion of the side wall construction' illustrated is indicated generally by the reference numeral I2 and embodies a side plate I 3 extending along the top of the side wall and a side sill I4 extending along the bottom of the wall. 'I'he 50 side plate I3 is preferably formed of a Z-bar arranged with its web I5 extending substantially horizontally and its inner and outer vertically disposed legs I6 and I1 positioned vertically. 'I'he side sill I4 is shown as a channel shaped member 55y having its web I8- arranged vertically and its upper and lower flanges i3 and 26 extending inwardly. The side sill I4 is fastened preferably by means of rivets to the cross members of the car underframe, one of said members being indicated at 2l.

The side plate andside sill are connected by means of vertical posts extending between these members. One of tnese posts is the door post 22 which, together with a similar opposed door post, defines the width of the door opening II. The remaining posts designated by the numeral 23 are the intermediate posts. Af clearly appears from Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the door post 22 extends downwardly below the top of the side sill whereas minate preferably above the side sill I4. As best shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, the door and intermediate posts are preferably disposed in outwardly spaced relationship to the side sill I4 in order to obtain a desired increase in the inside width of the car. The preferred securement of the upper ends of the posts to the side plate is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. The door post 22, whichis preferably of Z-section, is arranged with its web 24 parallel to the car side wall and its oppositely extending legs 25 and 26 lie at substantially a right angle to the side wall. The' web 24 of the door post 22 is secured .to the vertical depending leg I1 of the side plate as by means of rivets 21. The

inwardly directed leg 25 of the door post is secured by means of an angle clip 28 to a channel-shaped reinforcing member 29 riveted to theupstanding leg I6 of the side plate, as indicated at 30.

Each of the intermediate door posts 23 is disposed with its web 3i extending at right angles to the car side wall and with its oppostely extending legs 32 and 33 arranged parallel to said wall. The securement of the upper end of each of the intermediate door posts to the side plate is obtained by means of rivets 34 extending through the depending leg I1 of the side plate and the leg 32 of the post. The upper endof each of the intermediate posts is additionally fastened to the `side plate by means of an angle clip 35 secured -to the web 3l of the post and to the web of the channel-shaped lreinforcing member 23 for the side plate.

At its lower end, each of the door posts 22 is secured to the side sill I4 by means of a pair of angle members 36 and 31. Each of these angle members is provided with a leg38 and 39 respectively disposed upon opposite sides of the inwardly extending leg 25 of the door post and secured thereto as by means of rivets 40. The legs 38 and 38 diverge inwardly from the door post to the respective legs 4I and 42 of the angle members 36 and 31, the latter legs being secured to the web I8 of the side sill. It will be observed from a consideration of Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings that the outwardly extending leg 26 of the door post 22 terminates substantially in the upper plane of the car floor 43. l

The securement of the lower ends of each of the intermediate posts 23 to the side sill is effected by means of a bracket preferably in the form of a casting and designated by the numeralI 44. Each of the brackets 44 is provided with a vertical 'attaching fiange 45 and a horizontal flange 46 connected by means of an intermediate web 41. From the horizontal flange 46 there extends upwardly a. pair of spaced attaching flanges 48 and 49 disposed upon opposite sides of the web 3I` of each of the intermediate posts. These atthe intermediate posts 23 ter- A girder adapted to lading in the car.

its upper cord the side plate I3 and for its lower.

taching flanges may be secured to the web of each post by means of rivets, as indicated at 58.

The side wall construction embodies additional'- ly metallic sheathing I which extends from the door post 22 to the adjacent end of the car. The

`indicated at 53. At the door post the contiguous metallic sheet 52 is riveted to the web of the post. The end sheet of the metallic sheathing is secured to the car end 54 by means of a sturdy angular member 55, as clearly illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 3 of the drawings that the metallic sheathing 5I is disposed in outwardly spaced relationship l to the side sill I4. For the purpose of securing Vthe metallic sheathing to the side sill and for closing the gap between the sheathing and the side sill an angular member 56 preferably in the form of a Z-bar is utilized. The member 56 is arranged with its web 51 in a substantially horizontal plane so as to dispose one leg 58 upwardly for securement to and along the lower margin `of the metallic sheathing as indicated at 59. The other leg 60 of the angular member 56 extends downwardly from the web 51 and is secured as by means of rivets 6I to the webA I8 of the side sill. The web 51 is provided with openings 62 in order to permit the projection of the bracket attaching flanges 43 and 49 through the angular connecting member 56.

In the construction hereinabove described it' will be apparent that there is provided a side wall resist stresses set up by the This side wall girder has for cord the side sill I4. The door and intermediate posts 22 and 23 constitute the tension members of the girder, being aided in this function 'to a small degree by the metallic sheathing 5I. It is apparent, however, by virtue of the disposition of the door post, that the metallic connecting Z- members 56 `cannot effectively enter into the side wall girder construction inasmuch as their extent is limited from a door post to an adjacent end of the car. These bottom connecting Z-members have, however, by the instant invention, become incorporated into the side wall girder 'construction so as to effectively serve as a portion of the lower cord of the girder or, in other words, as a reinforcement for the lower cord. Moreover, by the instant invention there is accomplished a reinforcement of the side sill or lower cord of the girder intermediate the door posts whereby said side sill is reinforced not only in its function as apart of the side wall girder, but when considered as a beam across which heavy loadings often in the neighborhood of 15 tons or more are trucked. There is at present, moreover, the further advantage that a sturdy support is provided for that portion of the car floor which overhangs the side sill intermediate the door posts.

For the attainment of these advantages there is utilized a sturdy angular member preferably in the form of a. channel 63 arranged with its web 64 disposed vertically and its upper and lower horizontal flanges'65 and 66 directed inwardly. Intermediate the door posts 22 the reinforcing channel member 63 is secured to the cured to the webs I8 and 64 of the side sill and the reinforcingchannel 63. .At its ends the channel member 63 is riveted to the webs 24 of the door posts 22, as indicated at 58.

A direct securement is provided between the adjacent ends of the reinforcing channel member 63 and the bottom connecting Z-bars 56. For this purpose the invention utilizes preferably an angle member 69 having one of its flanges 10 arranged below the web 51 of the bottom connecting Z-bar 56 and its other ange 1| arranged vertically. The horizontal flange 10 is secured to the web 51 as by means of rivets 12, as clearly illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings. The vertical iange 1| of the angle connecting member passes in front of the web 24 of the door post 22 and is secured to said web by means of the rivets 68 which, as hereinabove stated, pass through the web 24 of the door post and the web 64 of the channel reinforcing member 63. The vertical flange 1| is additionally secured to the web 64 of the channel reinforcing member and to the depending flange 13 of a threshold plate 14 by means of rivets 15. 'Ihe lowermost of the rivets 15 pass through a small filler plate I6 interposed between the flange 1| and the web of the channel reinforcing member in order to fill in the gap between these members provided by` .the disposition of the flange 13 of the threshold plate between the flange 1| and the web of the `reinforcing member.

l wooden lining 11 fastened in abutting relationship to the posts `by securement to vertical nailing strips 18 fastened to the metallic sheathing by angle clips 19.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A railway house car having a metallic underframe including a metallic side sill, and a side wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill and intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower ends of each of said posts to said side sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of said posts in spaced relationship to said side sill and a metallic angular member extending from each door post to the adjacent end of -said car, said member extending between and connecting said sheathing to said side sill, a metallic member disposed between said door posts and secured to said side sill and means independent of said side sill securing the adjacent ends of said members together.

2. A railway house car having a metallic underframe including a metallic side sill, and aside The reinforcing wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill, and defining the width of a door opening provided in said side wall, intermediate posts, a side plate, l

means securing the' upper end of each of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower end of each of said posts to said side sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of each of said posts, said sheathing lying laterally outwardly of said side sill and a metallic angular member extending from each door post to the adjacent end of the car, said member exderframe including a metallic side sill, and a vside wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill and intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower ends of each of said posts to said side sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of said posts in spaced relationship to said side sill and a metallic angular member extending from each door post tothe adjacent en d of said car, said member having a vertical leg-secured to and along the lower margin of said sheathing and an inwardly directed portion extending and secured to said side sill, a metallic member extending between said door posts, means securing said latter member to said side sill and means securing the adjacent ends of said angular members and said latter member, each of said means comprising a substantially horizontal flange. secured to said.

inwardly directed portion'of an angular member and a vertical ange'secured to said member which is disposed between said door posts.

4. A railway house car having-a metallic underframe including ya metallic "side sill, and a side wall, said wall comprising; door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill and intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each.` of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower ends of each of said posts to said slide sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of said posts inA spaced relationship to said side sill and a metallic angular member extending from each door post td the adjacent end of said car, said member having a vertical leg secured to and along the lower margin of said sheathing and an inwardly tending and secured to said side sill, a metallic member 'extending between .said door posts, means securing said latter member to said side sill and means securing the adjacent ends of said angular members and said latter member, each of said means comprising a substantially horizontal flange secured to said inwardly directed portion of an angular member and a vertical flange secured to said member which is disposed between said door posts, said latter flange being secured to the adjacent door post.

5. A railway house car having a metallic underframe including a metallic side sill, and a side wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill, and defining the width of a door opening provided in said side wall, intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each of said directed portion exend of each of said posts to said side sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of each of said posts, said sheathing lying laterally outwardly of said side sill anda metallic angular member extending from each door post tothe adjacent end of the car, said member extending between and connecting 4said sheathing to said side sill, a metallic member -secured to said side sill below said door opening and extending between said door posts, said carhaving a door projecting outwardly beyond. said side sill between said doors posts, said latter metallic member supporting the overhanging portion of said floor and means other than said side sill securing the adjacent ends of said metallic members together.

6. A railway house car having a metallic un. derirame including' a metallic side sill, and a side f wall, said wall comprising door posts extending 'downwardly below thetop of said side silland defining the width oir a door opening provided in said side wall, a metallic reinforcing member `for said side sill disposed below said door opening in'outwardly spaced relation to said sill, means securing said reinforcing member to said sill,

said car having a floorprojecting outwardly bev yond said sill between said door posts, said member supporting the projecting portion of said 3o floor.

'1. A railway house car having a' metallic underframe including a metallic side sill, and a side wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said side sill, and

dening thewidth oi a door opening provided in said side wall, intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower end of each of said posts toV said side sill,

metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and to the outside of each of said posts, said sheathing lying laterally outwardly of said side sill and"a metallic angular member extending from each door post .to the adjacent end of the car,

said member extending between and connecting said sheathing to said side sill, a metallic member secured to said side sili'below said door opening in laterally outwardly spaced relationship to said sill and extending between said door posts, said car having a iioor projecting outwardly beyond said side sill between said` door posts, said latter metallic member supporting the overhanging portion of said iloor and means securing the adjacent ends of said metallic membersl together.

8. A railway house car having a metallic underframe including a metallic side sill, and a side wall, said wall comprising door posts extending downwardly below the top of said ,side sill, and defining the width of a door opening provided in said side wam-intermediate posts, a side plate, means securing the upper end of each of said posts to said side plate, means securing the lower end of each of said posts to said side sill, metallic sheathing secured to said side plate and tothe outside of each -of said posts, said sheathing lying laterally outwardly of said side sill and a metallic angular member extending from each door post to the adjacent end of the car, said member extending between and connecting said sheathing to said side sill, a, channel member disposed below said door opening in laterally outwardly spaced relationship to said' sill and arranged with its web vertically and its ilanges directed inwardly, brackets extending between said fianges and between and secured to said web and said side sill, said channel member extending from door post to door post, said car having a oor projecting beyond said sill between said door posts, said channel member supporting the projecting portion of said iioor, and means securing the ends of said channel member to the adjacent ends of said metallic angular members. 

